Peeta Mellark: The Gift of life
by thebigdog2895
Summary: DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS AND CHARACTERS ARE OWNED AND RESRVED BY SUZZANE COLLINS! I OWN NOTHING! This is my take on Peeta's journey through the arena with the careers. It ends shortly after Katniss has dropped the tracker jacker nest. I did not write this for me. I wrote this for someone who requested it. Hope you like it! Please review!


3...2...1... There's the gong and I'm off. I race straight into the cornucopia to start gathering supplies. I know it's not the best idea, but its the only thing I can think of. I grab a spear and a pack filled with food and water. Not a whole lot, but enough to get started. As I am running out I see the District 4 boy at my feet, dead. The boy from District 2, Cato, stands right in front of me. I stop in my tracks. I have nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. I freeze. My feet become a part of the earth, planting themselves into the soil. This is where I will rot after I die. I close my eyes, not wanting to witness my own destruction. However, I never feel his sword pass through my body. Instead he says,"You're lucky you have some use. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sparing you right now." "What use could I have for you? I have no skills!", I ask. "You may not have weaponry skills or hunting skills, but you are strong, and you can lead us to her.", says the girl from District 2, Clove. I take a big gulp. They want me to lead them to _her_. My district partner. Katniss Everdeen. The girl I have always had a crush on. I do not want to be the reason she dies, as she deserves to live more than I do. Her family is depending on her for survival. If I kill her, I kill her family. I can't do that. However, perhaps I can try to lead them away from her, and pretend that I know where she is. I could protect her in this way. "Alright", I say, "She told me specifically that she was going to stay north, no matter what was up there." "North it is", Cato commands,"First, lets set up a base camp. We need a place to where we can keep our supplies and regroup." We take a few hours to set up our camp near the lake. By the time we are finished, it is already dark." "Lets go for a hunt", Cato decides. As we are walking, we see smoke rising into the air. Rookie mistake. We find the source within minutes. "Please don't kill me, please don't kill me", begs the female tribute whom we found was the creator of the fire. Cato stabs her, and we leave her, figuring that she will be dead in a minute. We walk a small amount, and still we don't hear her cannon go off. I am told to go back and finish her off. I do it without hesitation. I hate having to take a life, but its one less person I have to worry about that can kill Katniss. We eventually stop and rest for the night. The next morning we set out to find more prey. Out of the blue, Marvel, the boy from 1, spots Katniss in a small pool of water. We follow her as she races away from us. When she realizes that we are right on her tail, she begins to scale up a tall tree. Cato tries to follow her, but he doesn't have the coordination to climb. Glimmer, the girl from District 1, tries to shoot at her with the bow she has, but she can't aim at all. Cato tries the bow too, and he misses as well. I then suggest we wait her out. I am hoping that if we stay here over night, she will find a way to take us all out. I hope that she even kills me. She probably thinks I betrayed her, but as long as I can save her, she can think what ever she wants. We set up a fire and eventually fall asleep. We are sleeping peacefully when we hear something come crashing to the ground. I am on my feet instantly. We are being swarmed by Tracker Jackers. We race back to the lake as fast as we can. Not two feet away from the tree, Glimmer trips. She screams for us to save her, but we don't. Its not worth it. I am the first to the lake. I dive in, and I drag myself out the very next minute. I dash right back to Katniss, who is in a daze from the Tracker Jacker stings. I tell her to run. She takes off, and I am happy that I could save her, even at my own expense. Cato comes up behind me. "You traitor", he bellows,"You let her get away. You have been working as her cover. You tricked us! For that, you shall pay!" He stabs my thigh, and I fall back, with pain wrapping around my leg. They leave me to die. This tree is where I will die. I will die here, but I will not die in vein. My life, which I have chosen to sacrifice, is the best gift I can give to Katniss. All I can do now, is hope the odds are in her favor.


End file.
